Trump to impose new sanctions on Russia over support for Syria
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration plans to impose new sanctions against Russia on Monday (April 16) to punish it for enabling the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons in its civil war, the latest in a series of actions by both sides underscoring the deterioration in relations between Moscow and the West.
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration plans to impose new sanctions against Russia on Monday (April 16) to punish it for enabling the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons in its civil war, the latest in a series of actions by both sides underscoring the deterioration in relations between Moscow and the West.
The sanctions, coming shortly after US-led airstrikes against facilities linked to Syria’s chemical weapons, are meant to signal that the United States holds responsible not just the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad but also his patrons in Russia and Iran.
US President Donald Trump has vowed that Syria’s allies will pay a “big price” for facilitating the suspected use of poison gas.
But it remained unclear how far Mr Trump would go in trying to shape events in Syria, which has been racked by civil war for seven years. President Emmanuel Macron of France, who along with Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain joined in the strike on Syrian targets, said Sunday night that he had persuaded Mr Trump to keep a small US ground force in Syria despite the president’s public declaration that he wanted to get out.
“We convinced him it was necessary to stay,” Mr Macron said in a televised interview with French journalists. “I assure you, we have convinced him that it is necessary to stay for the long term.”
US officials, however, disputed that, saying that Mr Macron misinterpreted the conversation. About 2,000 US troops are in Syria to fight the Islamic State, sometimes called ISIS, not to play a role in the civil war.
In public comments before the chemical attack that prompted him to launch airstrikes, Mr Trump said he wanted to pull them out right away. Advisers urged him to hold off, and he gave them five to six months to complete a withdrawal.
“The US mission has not changed - the president has been clear that he wants US forces to come home as quickly as possible,” Ms Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said in a statement Sunday night.
“We are determined to completely crush ISIS and create the conditions that will prevent its return. In addition, we expect our regional allies and partners to take greater responsibility both militarily and financially for securing the region.”
The new US sanctions were announced Sunday by Ms Nikki R. Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations and the administration’s leading public voice excoriating Russia in recent days. “They will go directly to any sort of companies that were dealing with equipment related to Assad and chemical weapons use,” she said on “Face the Nation” on CBS.
“And so I think everyone is going to feel it at this point. I think everyone knows that we sent a strong message, and our hope is that they listen to it.”
Mr Trump has tried through most of his presidency to forge a friendship with President Vladimir Putin of Russia and has largely avoided criticising him personally even as a special counsel, Mr Robert Mueller, investigated whether Mr Trump’s campaign coordinated with Russia during the 2016 election. But in recent weeks, his administration has taken increasing action against Russia, and the president singled out Mr Putin over Syria’s use of chemical weapons on Twitter and again in a televised speech Friday night.
New sanctions Monday would be the third round enacted by the Trump administration against Russia in the past four weeks. Last month, the administration targeted Russian companies and individuals for intervening in the 2016 election and mounting cyberattacks against Western facilities. It followed that this month with penalties against Putin’s inner circle, singling out some of Russia’s richest men and top government officials.
The administration also expelled 60 Russian diplomats and intelligence officers and closed the Russian Consulate in Seattle in response to the poisoning of a former Russian spy living in Britain. Russia responded by expelling 60 US diplomats and closing the US Consulate in St. Petersburg.
Mr Putin spoke with President Hassan Rouhani of Iran on Sunday to discuss the confrontation in Syria and reaffirm his opposition to the airstrike by US, British and French forces. “Vladimir Putin, in particular, stressed that if such actions, carried out in violation of the U.N. Charter, continue, it will inevitably lead to chaos in international relations,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
The strikes against Syria were designed to avoid provoking Russia into a response. By hitting just three targets and limiting the attack to a single night, the Trump administration seemed to avoid compelling Moscow to lash back.
But Ms Haley said the administration was determined to make Moscow pay a price for supporting Mr Assad, noting that it had vetoed six UN resolutions related to Syria and chemical weapons.
“Assad knew that Russia had its back,” she said on “Fox News Sunday.” “Assad knew that Russia would cover for him at the United Nations, and Assad got reckless and he used it in a way that was far more aggressive.”
The White House did not respond to requests for comment Sunday. The Treasury Department, which Ms Haley said would issue the sanctions, declined to elaborate. THE NEW YORK TIMES